The leader of the ruling coalition in Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, said that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to leave that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) at the mercy of the European Union (EU).
"My request was that President Putin not miss the opportunity when they make deals at the world level, and not leave us to some third-rate bureaucrats from Brussels, to continue to torture us and not allow us to live," Dodik told RT about last night's conversation with the Russian leader.
Dodik, who met with Putin in Sochi last night during the annual session of the Valdai International Debate Club, said they discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the Russian leader described as complex.
A transcript of part of their conversation, published on the Russian president's website, states that Putin said that Dodik "is doing a lot to build relations with Russia."
"I know that the situation in your country and region is not simple, one could say it is complex. I would be very interested to hear your assessment of those opportunities," Putin told Dodik at the beginning of the meeting, adding that he was "very glad" to see him.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has called for early elections for the president of Republika Srpska for 23 November, after the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina upheld its decision on 18 August to strip Dodik of his presidential mandate, based on a final conviction. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding office for failing to implement the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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